Blurred Lines
by ClockworkDucky
Summary: Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede on blurring lines and momentary madness and broken promises. Rated M for yaoi content


**Blurred Lines**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Inoue Takehiko. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary: **Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede on blurring lines and momentary madness and broken promises. Rated M for yaoi content

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_Sakuragi Hanamichi _

Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't like Rukawa Kaede. That much, he knew for certain. He was sure he hated the pompous, arrogant ass. He hated the way everyone kept calling him the 'ace of Shohoku' and 'super rookie' and a dozen other similar names that set his teeth on edge. He hated his pretty face and the idol-like status that it gave him. He hated the way the spectators always chanted his name during a game, regardless of whether Shohoku was winning or not; Ru-ka-wa! Ru-ka-wa! Ru-ka-wa! Like it was some sort of prayer. Like he was some sort of god. He hated Rukawa for not caring about the adulation of his fans and his cool hauteur and hated him some more because Sakuragi knew it was not an act.

He hated the way Haruko looked at Rukawa. He hated the way she spoke about him. He hated that she never seemed to look at him the way she looked at Rukawa. Sakuragi Hanamichi hated Rukawa Kaede with a burning passion for that.

Sakuragi Hanamichi especially hated the way he played. He hated the way Rukawa seemed to raise the bar a little higher, every time Sakuragi felt he could catch up to him. He hated that sometimes he couldn't take his eyes of Rukawa Kaede when he played. Because he seemed to be created to play basketball; to turn his body into a masterpiece of fluid grace and speed. He hated the way his mind whispered to him in awe - _genius_. And _God!_ He _hated_ it when Rukawa turned and looked at him across the court with eyes that seemed to say, 'did you see me? This is the power of Shohoku's ace.'

Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't like Rukawa Kaede. That much, he knew for certain. So, he should have been wondering, at some point, if there was something wrong with him when they started what they started. But Sakuragi Hanamichi had always been a creature of instinct. He wasn't given to analysing the right or the wrong, the why or the how or the when or the ifs. Things were either here or there and no in-between. It either felt right or it didn't.

And it had felt oh-so-right and it had felt oh-so-good. So, when they slammed against the lockers and fumbled with each others clothes and pressed sweaty, hot bodies against each other, Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't wonder at the incongruity of kissing the person he hated. He just knew a burning, all-consuming _need_. The rush was like playing a really good game, like going against an opponent who made your blood hum through your body. He thought that it might be better.

It was madness, what they'd started. It was just a weird extention of their rivalry on and off the courts. Sakuragi Hanamichi hated Rukawa Kaede. The girl he loved seemed to adore Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi hated him for that. He hated him for being one the best basketball players he'd ever seen. He hated everything Rukawa stood for. He hated him for his cold, precise control.

Except when Rukawa lost control. Then, Rukawa was something else entirely- flushed and moaning and almost pleading and fucking beautiful. And Sakuragi thought it wasn't hate but something quite like it - wild and unbridled and uncontrolled; and he felt it almost consume him with it's intensity. Madness.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was a creature of instinct. He didn't waste time trying to define the exact nature of their relationship with each other. It was just something they did. A spur of the moment thing, a temporary madness that was meaningless, that meant nothing. Each time, they promised each other silently that it would never happen again.

And they kept their promise to each other. Until the next time they broke it.

_Rukawa Kaede_

Rukawa Kaede didn't like Sakuragi Hanamichi. That much, he knew for certain. He hated his stupid red hair and his obnoxious laugh and empty boasts. He hated the way he kept calling himself a 'genius' when he didn't know the first thing about the game. He hated Sakuragi's unofficial nickname 'Rebound King'. It was absolutely ridiculous that a newbie like Sakuragi should be called that. He hated the the way he accepted the adulation like he was some god, the way he basked in it, the way he craved it. Like it mattered.

Rukawa Kaede hated his brashness, his boldness, his arrogance. He hated Sakuragi's baseless confidence. He hated how Sakuragi didn't know his own limits, how he didn't set any limits for himself, how he always challenged people far more talented than him. He hated his unbounded enthusiasm and his seemingly inexhaustible stamina and strength.

Rukawa Kaede especially hated the way he played. He hated that Sakuragi was already trying to catch up to him without even stopping to think that Rukawa was what he was now, with years of practice. He hated that sometimes even he couldn't take his eyes of Sakuragi Hanamichi when he played. Because he was one the most mesmerizing players Rukawa had seen. He hated how his, sometimes, startlingly brilliant plays and his raw talent and limitless potential caused Rukawa to hold his breath. And _God!_ He _hated_ it when Sakuragi looked at him across the court with eyes that seemed to say, 'I will be better than you. I will be the best.'

Rukawa Kaede hated Sakuragi Hanamichi. That much, he knew for certain. So, he should have been wondering, at some point, if there was something wrong with him when they started what they started. But Rukawa Kaede never wasted time thinking about pointless things. He just reacted instinctively. You either got it right or you got it wrong. There really were no two ways about it.

And he seemed to have got it so very right. When Sakuragi pushed him against the locker and kissed him fiercely, Rukawa just yanked him even closer and opened his mouth under his. Had he been given to pointless thinking, he would have wondered about kissing the guy he hated. But all he felt was an overwhelming, insane _need. _He felt his control slipping away and heard himself moan, for all that he tried to bite it back. He hated Sakuragi for watching him lose control, for making him lose control and could have killed him for it. Except Sakuragi looked at him with eyes glittering with something that seemed very like hate but was actually something else entirely.

Rukawa Kaede knew he'd always hate Sakuragi Hanamichi, except when he didn't. Lately, he found it hard to distinguish where the lines blurred and bled into each other. Until he couldn't make out if it was hate or almost-hate. But that didn't matter because this, whatever it was, was meaningless. Just an aberration. Rukawa reached up and put his fingers lightly against Sakuragi's lips as he smoothed the hair from Rukawa's sweaty forehead and he promised Sakuragi silently, _this will never happen again._ The smile that Sakuragi gave him was a ghost of his usual arrogant grin; _of course it won't happen again._

And they kept their promise to each other. Until the next time they broke it.

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The End.

A/N- I wrote this on a lark. I've never written slash before and hopefully I haven't messed it up too much.


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